Robot installation

ABSTRACT

An installation in a slitter mill for mounting a tool set (5), composed of annular tool parts (3), on a set-up device (1) provided with bars (2). The tool parts (3) are stored in a plurality of magazines (4) in a tool storage. A gantry robot (9) is adapted to collect tool parts (3) from the magazines (4) by means of a gripper (7) and to temporarily store the tool parts (3) in an associated intermediate magazine (13). The robot (9) with the intermediate magazine (13) moves between the magazines (4) and collects the desired tool parts (3) by means of the gripper (7) for loading a tool set in the intermediate magazine. A transfer device (15) is adapted to lift and transfer to the bars (2) a tool set present in the intermediate magazine (13). (FIG. 2 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device and a method for setting upand dismantling a set of tools on a tool magazine, for example slittingtools in a slitter. Such a slitter comprises a mill stand with an upperand a lower roll, on which a number of tools are set up, such as cuttingrings, spacer rings, and pressure disks. A long plate wound on a rolleris brought to run through the mill stand, whereby the plate is cut intosmaller widths suited to the customers.

BACKGROUND ART

A production cycle in a slitter comprises cutting out, tool exchange,adjustments, etc. The productive part of the cycle is the actual cuttingout, that is, the time it takes to cut out a plate in a mill stand. Theinactive part of the cycle may be designated set-up time, whichsubstantially comprises time for handling the plate and time for settingup and dismantling cutting tools on the mill stand. Cutting out in amill stand of a plate from a plate roll of about 60 tons takes about 10minutes whereas the set-up time is considerably longer. For efficientproduction it is required that, above all, the set-up time be minimizedand that part of the set-up time may occur in parallel with the cuttingout.

A method for setting up a mill stand is known, in which a set-up devicewith four pairs of bars are used as intermediate storage for pre-mountedtool sets for cutting out. The set-up device is adapted to be movedbetween a mounting station, where premounting of tool sets takes place,and a docking station at the mill stand, where the pairs of bars of theset-up device are docked with the roll pair in the mill stand. For thispurpose, the end wall of the mill stand can be opened and the rolls beremoved from each other such that tool sets from the bars of the set-updevice may be independently transferred to the rolls of the mill stand.After setting up, the end wall is closed and the rolls are moved towardseach other such that the lower and upper cutting tools engage with eachother. The method may also be used when dismantling tool sets, in whichcase the procedure described above is carried out in reverse order.

Such a plant with a set-up device provided with bars is described, forexample, in the pamphlet "Rational Coil Slitting System" (RCSS),published by, inter alia, ABB Production Development AB, and shown isFIG. 1. Two robots are each fetching tools with the aid of an annulargripper from a plurality of tool magazines in separate tool storages andmount the tools on the pair of bars. One robot mounts on the upper barand the other robot on the lower bar. A tool set comprises a combinationof a large number of annular tools, such as cutting rings, spacer rings,and pressure disks. The tools are stored, with their plane surfaceshorizontally oriented, as piles in vertical tool magazines. For fetchinga tool, each robot gripper is first oriented horizontally over the pileof tools in a selected magazine, whereupon the gripper is lowered untilmechanical contact is obtained with the uppermost tool. Three mechanicalhooks grip centrally from the inside about the annular tool and lift itout of the tool magazine. The robot then positions the grippertransversally with the secured tool and at the same time moves it to apoint right in front of the bar served by the robot. During themovement, the gripper is aligned such that the tool is oriented with itsaxis parallel to and centred with the longitudinal axis of the bar. Uponattained position and alignment, the tool is pushed onto the bar anddetached from the gripper, whereafter the robot returns to mount thenext tool in a repeated cycle. When dismounting, the method describedabove is carried out in reverse order.

Whereas previously the tools were mounted manually direct on the pair ofrolls in the mill stand, the introduction of the set-up device entails aconsiderable saving of time since the tool mounting may be carried outin parallel with the cutting out in the mill stand. The introduction ofrobots for mounting of the tool sets on the set-up device entails anadditional saving of time. Still, however, the time for mounting anddismounting the set-up device is many times longer than the time forcutting out and hence decisive of the capacity of the slitter. Anadditional problem is that the set-up station with its two robots withseparate tool storages takes up a large area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to further shorten the time formounting and dismounting of tool sets on the set-up device, to simplifythe handling of tools, and to limit the working area of the mountingstation. This is achieved by a robot installation with a robot,preferably a gantry (or portal) robot, which from one tool storage onlyfetches and mounts tools on the set-up device. The robot comprises agripper, an intermediate magazine, and a transfer device. Theintermediate magazine, which is supported by the robot, comprises acentring means and a leveling fork and is adapted to temporarily store atool set. The leveling fork is adapted to automatically raise or lowerthe pile of tools at the intermediate magazine, such that their uppersurface is always adjusted to the same level. The gripper is thus givena constant working point for collecting or delivering a tool in theintermediate magazine. The transfer device is adapted to lift a tool setmounted in the intermediate magazine, by means of unfolding guide wingswith resilient jaws at their ends, and to transfer the tool set to theset-up device. The transfer device may also retain a mounted tool setwhile a new tool set is mounted in the intermediate magazine. A pushingdevice, which comprises a carriage with two pushing arms, is placedbelow the pair of bars of the set-up device and adapted to push a toolset, located on a bar, to a docking area at the free end of the bar orinversely.

Since the robot with its gripper successively loads the intermediatemagazine with tools carried by the robot, and the transfer device, onlywhen the intermediate magazine is fully loaded, transfers the assembledtool set to the set-up device or direct to the rolls of a mill stand,the time for new set-up is considerably reduced, since the robotmovement per tool is minimized. An additional advantage is obtained inthat the transfer by means of the transfer device results in the toolsequence in the intermediate magazine becoming the same as when mountingdirectly on the bars of the set-up device and, therefore, can be easilyvisually checked.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be explained in greater detail by description of anembodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 shows a known set-up station,

FIG. 2 shows a set-up station according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows an intermediate magazine and a transfer device, and

FIG. 4 shows a pushing device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A known mounting station for mounting and dismounting a first tool set5a on an upper bar 2a and a second tool set 5b on a lower bar 2b in aset-up station 1 is shown in FIG. 1. The tool sets are built up ofoptional combinations of a large number of annular tools 3, such ascutting rings, spacer rings, and pressure disks. The tools 3 are storedlying in a plurality of vertical tool magazines 4 in two tool storages.A first robot 6a collects tools 3 with the aid of an annular gripper 7afrom the tool magazine 4 in a first tool storage and mounts the tools 3to the tool set 5a on the set-up device 1. A similar robot 6b collectstools 3 in similar manner from the tool magazine 4 in a tool storage 8bfor mounting in a second tool set 5b on the bar 2b.

The set-up device 1 is adapted to be moved between the set-up stationand a mill stand (not shown) of a slitter and may be rotated in bothdirections around a vertical axis. The set-up device 1 comprises aparallelepiped central body, to which is fixed, in each of the foursides, a horizontally oriented pair of bars 2, the upper bar 2a of whichis placed vertically above a lower bar 2b and parallel thereto. Eachpair of bars 2 is adapted to dock with a pair of rolls in the mill standand has the same length and the same distance between it as the rolls.Upon docking between a pair of bars and a pair of rolls, the premountedtool sets are transferred from the bars to the rolls or inversely. Withthe aid of the set-up device 1, the rolls in the mill stand may berapidly dismantled and set up. Upon dismantling, the tool sets locatedon the pair of rolls are pushed in their entirety over to thecorresponding pair of bars 2 in the docked set-up device 1. Uponsubsequent setting up, the set-up device 1 is first rotated so as topermit docking between the pair of rolls and a pair of bars withpremounted tool sets, which are pushed over to the pair of rolls in acorresponding manner.

A set-up station according to the invention, which utilizes the knowntransfer device 1, is shown in FIG. 2. A gantry robot 9, for exampleaccording to the ABB Production Development AB pamphlet UA 9402-S,comprising a gantry stand 10 which is fixed against a base plate andsupports a robot carriage 11, movable in the horizontal plane, withthree arms, is adapted to collect annular tools 3 from a plurality oftool magazines 4 in a tool storage, which is housed below the gantrystand 10, and to mount them on a pair of bars 2 of a set-up device 1(only partially shown). The carriage 11 supports a first arm 16, movablein the vertical direction, with an annular gripper 7 rotatable about avertical axis, a second fixed arm 12 to which an intermediate magazine13 is fixed, and a third arm 14, movable in the vertical direction, witha transfer device 15 rotatable about a horizontal axis.

The intermediate magazine 13, as shown in FIG. 3, comprises acantilever-shaped supporting plate 17, fixed to the second arm 12, withtwo vertically oriented supporting wings 18, between which a verticallyextending leveling fork is arranged. The supporting wings 18 are adaptedto center the tools, whereas the leveling fork 19 is adapted toautomatically lift the stacked tools 3 such that the upper surface ofthe stack is kept at a constant height. Because the upper surface of thestack of tools is always the same, a defined delivery position andcollection position, respectively, are imparted to the gripper 7.Therefore, the gripper 7 need not seek a position for delivering toolswhich is dependent on the number of stacked tools 3 but can immediatelyadopt a predetermined position for delivering or collecting tools.

The transfer device 15 comprises a cylindrical head 20, composed of twoparts, with a guide wing 21 projecting from each part. The guide wings21, which are oriented parallel, are rotatable towards and away fromeach other around an axis which is eccentrically arranged through thehead 20 and parallel to the guide wings. The transfer device 15 isadapted to be rotated around a horizontal axis, fixed to the third arm14, from a vertically downwardly-directed position centred over theintermediate magazine 13 to a horizontal position (shown in dash-dottedline), which permits centring with the pair of bars 2 of the set-updevice 1. The guide wings 21 are adapted to dock with, on the one hand,the supporting wings 18 of the intermediate magazine 13 and, on theother hand, the upper bar 2a or the lower bar 2b of the set-up device 1.Upon docking with the intermediate magazine 13, the guide wings 21 arefitted so as to overlap with the supporting wings 18 on the inside ofthe tools 3 stacked on the intermediate magazine 13. The guide wings 21are deflected away from each other, causing the stack of tools to becentred and the two resilient jaws 22 in the outer end of the guidewings to engage the lowermost tool from the inside, permitting thetransfer device 15 to lift the mounted stack of tools out of theintermediate magazine 13. Upon docking with the set-up device 1, thetransfer device 15 is rotated to the horizontal position (dash-dotted)while being moved and centred in front of the upper bar 2a or the lowerbar 2b of the set-up device, whereupon the guide wings 21 are fitted soas to overlap the bar in question. The guide wings 21 are rotatedtowards each other, allowing the tool set to be loosened and bedelivered on the bar when the transfer device is withdrawn.

A pushing device 25 is placed below a pair of bars 2 of the set-updevice 1 according to FIG. 4, this pair of bars 2 being oriented towardsthe robot 9. A stand 26 fixed to a base plate supports a horizontalruler 27 on which runs a carriage 28 with a first pushing arm 29aadapted to serve the upper bar 2a and a second pushing arm 29b adaptedto serve the lower bar 2b. At the upper end of the each pushing arm, ahand 30 is fixed, which is adapted to engage the end of the tool setpresent on the bar. Upon docking, the transfer device delivers thepremounted tool set to a docking area on one of the outer ends of thebars. The carriage 28 is moved in parallel with the lower bar 2b to aposition at the free end of the bar, whereupon the arm 29 associatedwith the bar in question is rotated around a vertical axis such that thehand 30, fixed to the end thereof, engages the tool set. When thecarriage 28 is again moved towards the centre of the set-up device 1,the tool set present on the transfer device 15 is pushed with the aid ofthe hand 30 away from the docking area, which is thus released for a newtransfer of tools.

The method for mounting a tool set 5a on the upper bar 2a fixed to theset-up device 1, and a tool set 5b on the lower bar 2b is carried out insuch a way that the gantry robot 9 by means of the gripper 7successively loads the intermediate magazine 13 with a tool set,whereupon this tool set is transferred in its entirety to the set-updevice. At a collect position assumed by the robot 9 at a selected toolmagazine 4, the deflected gripper 7 (shown in dash-dotted line) iscentred over the tool magazine 4. The first arm 16 is lowered until thegripper 7 makes mechanical contact with the tool 3 stored at the top ofthe tool magazine 4. The gripper 7 engages the tool 3 with threegripping claws on the inside and lifts it up. As soon as the tool 3 hasbeen lifted from the tool magazine 4, the robot starts moving to thenext selected tool magazine 4. In parallel with the movement, thegripper 7 assumes the correct position in height where it is rotated soas to be oriented over the intermediate magazine 13 associated with therobot, whereupon the gripper 7 assumes the predetermined position fordelivery of tools. The gripper 7 releases the tool 3, which ispositioned on top of the tools stacked in the intermediate magazine. Theleveling fork 19 lowers the stack of tools such that its surface isagain adjusted to the delivery position. Meanwhile the robot has hadtime to assume a collect position at a new tool magazine 4 in order toload another tool 3 in the intermediate magazine 4 using theabove-mentioned method. When the intermediate magazine 13 is fullyloaded, the gripper 7 is turned aside, whereupon the vertically adjustedtransfer device 15 docks with the intermediate magazine 13. The guidewings 21 of the transfer device 15 are fitted so as to overlap thesupporting wings 18 of the intermediate magazine 13, whereupon the guidewings 21 are unfolded, causing the resilient lugs 22 to engage the tool3 stored at the bottom of the intermediate magazine. The transfer device15 then lifts the loaded tool set and retains it in a rest positionwhile the robot 9 loads another tool set in the intermediate magazine13. When also this has been loaded, the robot 9 moves to the set-updevice 1, whereupon docking and transfer of tools are performed in amanner described above.

In certain cases, the intermediate magazine 13 may carry only part of acomplete tool set, and so the method described above is carried outseveral times to transfer a complete tool set to the pair of bars. Theintermediate magazine is not limited to only carrying one tool set butmay be designed to be docked itself to a set-up device for transfer ofsets of tools.

The method described above relates to mounting of sets of tools on thepairs of bars 2 of the set-up device 1. When dismantling tools, the samemethod is applied in reverse order.

The invention is not limited to mounting tool sets on the bars of theset-up device but can mount or set up tool sets direct on the rolls of amill stand. The invention may also be used in other applications whereit is advantageous to temporarily store objects mounted into a unit inan intermediate magazine fixed to a robot.

I claim:
 1. An installation for mounting a tool set (5), composed oftool parts, on a set-up device (2), comprising at least one manipulator(9) which by means of a gripper (7) collects the tool parts (3) from aplurality of magazines (4) and delivers them to the set-up device (2),characterized in that the manipulator (9) comprises an intermediatemagazine (13) for temporary storage of a tool set under build-up and atransfer device (15) for transfer of the tool set to the set-up device(2), whereby the manipulator (9) carries the intermediate magazine (13)and the transfer device (15), and is adapted to move between themagazines (4) and with the aid of the gripper (7) collect tool parts (3)to deliver them into the intermediate magazine (13).
 2. An installationaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the manipulator (9)comprises a gantry robot with a carriage (11) which is movable in thehorizontal plane and comprises a first vertically displaceable arm (16)which supports the gripper (7) rotatable about a vertical axis, a secondfixed arm (12) supporting the intermediate magazine (13), and a thirdvertically displaceable arm (14), which supports the transfer device(15) which is rotatable about a horizontal axis.
 3. An installationaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate magazine(13) comprises at least two vertical supporting wings (18), adapted tocenter the tools (3).
 4. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the intermediate magazine (13) comprises aleveling fork (19) adapted to carry the stacked tools (3) andautomatically lift the stack of tools such that its upper surfaces iskept substantially constant.
 5. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the transfer device (15) comprises two guide wings(21) capable of docking with the intermediate magazine (13) and with theset-up device (2), said guide wings being adapted to guide and retain atool set during a transfer from the intermediate magazine (13) to theset-up device (2).
 6. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the set-up device (2) consists of a roll of a millstand in a slitter.
 7. An installation according to claim 1,characterized in that the set-up device (2) consists of a tool setcarrier (1) provided with bars, said tool set carrier being adapted todock with a pair of rolls of a mill stand, whereby a complete tool setis transferred in its entirety to the mill stand.
 8. An installationaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the set-up device (2) isassociated with a pushing device (25), which comprises a carriage (28)displaceable along the set-up device (2), at least one rotatable arm(29) with a hand (30) being arranged on said carriage (28) for pushing atool set onto the set-up device (2).
 9. A method for setting up toolsets (5), wherein a plurality of tool parts (3) from a plurality ofmagazines (4) are assembled on a set-up device (2), characterized inthat the tool parts (3) are collected by a manipulator (9) and composedinto a tool set (5) in an intermediate magazine (13) supported by themanipulator, and that the tool set is thereafter transferred to theset-up device (2) by a transfer device (15) supported by themanipulator.